What is the Preferable Method for the C3 and C7 Segments in Unilateral Open-Door Laminoplasty for Patients Diagnosed with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy?

BACKGROUND: Traditional C3-C7 unilateral open-door laminoplasty (UOLP) often leads to various postoperative complications as a result of damage of cervical posterior muscles and nuchal ligaments. We aimed to thoroughly evaluate postoperative outcomes after our modified UOLP versus traditional UOLP in treating multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM). METHODS: Seventy-six patients with MCSM who underwent the modified UOLP with C3 laminectomy and C7 upper hemilaminectomy (40 patients) or traditional C3-C7 UOLP (36 patients) were included. Preoperative and postoperative cervical radiologic parameters, as well as clinical and surgical outcomes, were evaluated. RESULTS: Postoperatively, Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores improved significantly more in the modified UOLP group than in the traditional UOLP group (P = 0.028), whereas visual analog scale scores and Neck Disability Index improved similarly in both groups. Follow-up scores for Japanese Orthopaedic Association, Neck Disability Index, and visual analog scale were not significantly different between the 2 groups. At the final follow-up, the C2-C7 sagittal vertical axis and T1 slope increased in the traditional UOLP group and did not change in the modified UOLP group and were unchanged in the modified UOLP group. The C2-C7 Cobb angle decreased significantly in the traditional UOLP group and did not change in the modified UOLP group. The modified UOLP group lost less cervical posterior muscle area compared with the traditional UOLP group (3.72% ± 3.54% vs. 6.67% ± 2.81%; P < 0.001). The range of motion in the modified UOLP group was significantly greater than in the traditional UOLP group at the final follow-up (P < 0.001). Also, the modified UOLP group experienced a notable reduction in operative time, blood loss volume, and postoperative hospital stay. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend performing our modified UOLP with C3 laminectomy and C7 upper hemilaminectomy instead of traditional C3-C7 UOLP.

Focusing on the Abnormal Events of NPC1, NPC2, and NPC1L1 in Pan-Cancer and Further Constructing LUAD and KICH Prediction Models.

Cancer's high incidence and death rate jeopardize human health and life, and it has become a global public health issue. Some members of NPCs have been studied in a few cancers, but comprehensive and prognostic analysis is lacking in most cancers. In this study, we used the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data genomics and transcriptome technology to examine the differential expression and prognosis of NPCs in 33 cancer samples, as well as to investigate NPCs mutations and their effect on patient prognosis and to evaluate the methylation level of NPCs in cancer. The linked mechanisms and medication resistance were subsequently investigated in order to investigate prospective tumor therapy approaches. The relationships between NPCs and immune infiltration, immune cells, immunological regulatory substances, and immune pathways were also investigated. Finally, the LUAD and KICH prognostic prediction models were built using univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis. Additionally, the mRNA and protein levels of NPCs were also identified.

How are exclusively data journals indexed in major scholarly databases? An examination of four databases.

The data paper is becoming a popular way for researchers to publish their research data. The growing numbers of data papers and journals hosting them have made them an important data source for understanding how research data is published and reused. One barrier to this research agenda is a lack of knowledge as to how data journals and their publications are indexed in the scholarly databases used for quantitative analysis. To address this gap, this study examines how a list of 18 exclusively data journals (i.e., journals that primarily accept data papers) are indexed in four popular scholarly databases: the Web of Science, Scopus, Dimensions, and OpenAlex. We investigate how comprehensively these databases cover the selected data journals and, in particular, how they present the document type information of data papers. We find that the coverage of data papers, as well as their document type information, is highly inconsistent across databases, which creates major challenges for future efforts to study them quantitatively, which should be addressed in the future.

Exploring the diagnostic value, prognostic value, and biological functions of NPC gene family members in hepatocellular carcinoma based on a multi-omics analysis.

Liver cancer is a cunning malignancy with a high incidence and mortality rate among cancers worldwide. The NPC gene family members (NPCs: NPC1, NPC2, and NPC1L1) are closely linked to the development of multiple cancers, but their role in liver cancer remains unclear. As a result, we must investigate their functions in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). NPCs were significantly differentially expressed between normal and LIHC tissues, with a high mutation frequency in LIHC. The ROC curve analysis revealed that NPC1/NPC2 had high diagnostic and prognostic values in LIHC. NPC1 expression was also found to be negatively correlated with its methylation level. The differentially expressed genes between high and low NPC1 expression groups in LIHC were mainly related to channel activity, transporter complexes, and plasma membrane adhesion molecules. Additionally, NPC1 expression was significantly associated with multiple immune cells and immunization checkpoints. It was hypothesized that a TUG1/SNHG4-miR-148a-3p-NPC1 regulatory axis is associated with hepatocarcinogenesis. Finally, the protein expression of NPC1 in LIHC tissues and paraneoplastic tissues was detected, and NPC1-knockdown HepG2 cells (NPC1KO) inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion. This study helped to identify new prognostic markers and potential immunotherapeutic targets for LIHC and revealed the molecular mechanisms underlying NPC1 regulation in LIHC. The NPCs play a key role in the prognosis and diagnosis of LIHC and may be an important indicator for LIHC prognosis and diagnosis; NPC1 might be a potential therapeutic target in LIHC.

Screening Clones for Monoclonal Antibody Production Using Droplet Microfluidics Interfaced to Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

As one of the most critical steps in process development for protein therapeutics, clone selection and cell culture optimization require a large number of samples to be screened for high titer and desirable molecular profiles. Typical analytical techniques, such as chromatographic approaches, often take minutes per sample which are inefficient for large-scale screenings. Droplet microfluidics coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) represents an attractive approach due to its low volume requirements, high-throughput capabilities, label-free nature, and ability to handle complex mixtures. In this work, we coupled a modified protein cleanup protocol with a droplet-MS workflow for mAb titer screening to guide clone selection. With this droplet approach we achieved a throughput of 0.04 samples/s with an LoD of 0.15 mg/mL and an LoQ of 0.45 mg/mL. To test its performance in a real-world setting, this workflow was applied to a 35-clone screen, where the top 20% producing clones were identified. In addition, we coupled our sample cleanup protocol to a high-resolution MS and compared the glycan profiles of the high titer clones. This work demonstrates that droplet-MS provides a rapid way of clone screening and cell culture optimization based on titer and molecular structure of the expressed proteins. Future work is aimed at increasing the throughput and automation of this droplet-MS technique.

Triphenyl phosphate induced apoptosis of mice testicular Leydig cells and TM3 cells through ROS-mediated mitochondrial fusion inhibition.

Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) is a widely used organophosphate flame retardant and has biological toxicity. Previous studies showed TPHP can restrain testosterone biosynthesis in Leydig cells, while the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, C57BL/6J male mice were exposed to 0, 5, 50, and 200 mg/kg B.W. of TPHP for 30 d by oral, as well as TM3 cells were treated with 0, 50, 100, and 200 µM of TPHP for 24 h. Results showed that TPHP induced testes damage, including spermatogenesis disorders and testosterone synthesis inhibition. Meanwhile, TPHP can cause apoptosis in testicular Leydig cells and TM3 cells, as evidenced by the increased apoptosis rate and decreased Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Moreover, TPHP disrupted mitochondrial ultrastructure of testicular Leydig cells and TM3 cells, reduced healthy mitochondria content and depressed mitochondrial membrane potential of TM3 cells, as well as inhibited mitochondrial fusion proteins mitofusin 1 (Mfn1), mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), and optic atrophy 1 (Opa1) expression, without effect on mitochondrial fission proteins dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) and fission 1 (Fis1) in testicular tissue and/or TM3 cells. Then, the mitochondrial fusion promoter M1 was used to pre-treat TPHP-exposed TM3 cells to determine the roles of mitochondrial fusion inhibition in TPHP-induced Leydig cells apoptosis. The results showed M1 pretreatment alleviated the above changes and further mitigated TM3 cells apoptosis and testosterone levels decreased, indicating TPHP induced TM3 cells apoptosis by inhibited mitochondrial fusion. Intriguingly, the intervention experiment of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) showed that TPHP-induced mitochondrial fusion inhibition is ROS dependent, because inhibition of ROS overproduction alleviated mitochondrial fusion inhibition, and subsequently relieved TPHP-induced apoptosis in TM3 cells. In summary, above data revealed that apoptosis is a specific mechanism for TPHP-induced male reproductive toxicity, and that ROS-mediated mitochondrial fusion inhibition is responsible for Leydig cells apoptosis caused by TPHP.

Effect of the In Situ Screw Implantation Region and Angle on the Stability of Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Finite Element Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the in situ screw implantation region and angle on the stability of lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) from a biomechanical perspective. METHODS: A validated L2-4 finite element (FE) model was modified for simulation. The L3-4 fused segment undergoing LLIF surgery was modeled. The area between the superior and inferior edges and the anterior and posterior edges of the vertebral body (VB) is divided into four zones by three parallel lines in coronal and horizontal planes. In situ screw implantation methods with different angles based on the three parallel lines in coronal plane were applied in Models A, B, and C (A: parallel to inferior line; B: from inferior line to midline; C: from inferior line to superior line). In addition, four implantation methods with different regions based on the three parallel lines in horizontal plane were simulated as types 1-2, 1-3, 2-2, and 2-3 (1-2: from anterior line to midline; 1-3: from anterior line to posterior line; 2-2: parallel to midline; 2-3: from midline to posterior line). L3-4 ROM, interbody cage stress, screw-bone interface stress, and L4 superior endplate stress were tracked and calculated for comparisons among these models. RESULTS: The L3-4 ROM of Models A, B, and C decreased with the extent ranging from 47.9% (flexion-extension) to 62.4% (lateral bending) with no significant differences under any loading condition. Types 2-2 and 2-3 had 45% restriction, while types 1-2 and 1-3 had 51% restriction in ROM under flexion-extension conditions. Under lateral bending, types 2-2 and 2-3 had 70.6% restriction, while types 1-2 and 1-3 had 61.2% restriction in ROM. Under axial rotation, types 2-2 and 2-3 had 65.2% restriction, while types 1-2 and 1-3 had 59.3% restriction in ROM. The stress of the cage in types 2-2 and 2-3 was approximately 20% lower than that in types 1-2 and 1-3 under all loading conditions in all models. The peak stresses at the screw-bone interface in types 2-2 and 2-3 were much lower (approximately 35%) than those in types 1-2 and 1-3 under lateral bending, while no significant differences were observed under flexion-extension and axial rotation. The peak stress on the L4 superior endplate was approximately 30 MPa and was not significantly different in all models under any loading condition. CONCLUSIONS: Different regions of entry-exit screws induced multiple screw trajectories and influenced the stability and mechanical responses. However, different implantation angles did not. Considering the difficulty of implantation, the ipsilateral-contralateral trajectory in the lateral middle region of the VB can be optimal for in situ screw implantation in LLIF surgery.

An extensive analysis of the presence of altmetric data for Web of Science publications across subject fields and research topics.

Sufficient data presence is one of the key preconditions for applying metrics in practice. Based on both Altmetric.com data and Mendeley data collected up to 2019, this paper presents a state-of-the-art analysis of the presence of 12 kinds of altmetric events for nearly 12.3 million Web of Science publications published between 2012 and 2018. Results show that even though an upward trend of data presence can be observed over time, except for Mendeley readers and Twitter mentions, the overall presence of most altmetric data is still low. The majority of altmetric events go to publications in the fields of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, and Life and Earth Sciences. As to research topics, the level of attention received by research topics varies across altmetric data, and specific altmetric data show different preferences for research topics, on the basis of which a framework for identifying hot research topics is proposed and applied to detect research topics with higher levels of attention garnered on certain altmetric data source. Twitter mentions and policy document citations were selected as two examples to identify hot research topics of interest of Twitter users and policy-makers, respectively, shedding light on the potential of altmetric data in monitoring research trends of specific social attention.

Effects of light-emitting diode supplementary lighting on the winter growth of greenhouse plants in the Yangtze River Delta of China.

BACKGROUND: The winter in the Yangtze River Delta area of China involves more than 1 month of continuous low temperature and poor light (CLTL) weather conditions, which impacts horticultural production in an unheated greenhouse; however, few greenhouses in this area are currently equipped with a heating device. The low-cost and long-living light-emitting diode (LED) was used as an artificial light source to explore the effects of supplementary lighting during the dark period in CLTL winter on the vegetative characteristics, early yield, and physiology of flowering for pepper plants grown in a greenhouse without heating. Two LED lighting sets were employed with different light source to provide 65 µmol m-2 s-1 at night: (1) LED-A: red LEDs (R, peak wavelength 660 nm) and blue LEDs (B, peak wavelength 460 nm) with an R:B ratio of 6:3; and (2) LED-B: R and B LEDs at an R:B ratio of 8:1. Plants growth parameters and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics were compared between lighting treatments and the control group. RESULTS: Plants' yield and photosynthesis ability were improved by LED-A. Pepper grown under the LED-A1 strategy showed a 303.3 % greater fresh weight of fruits and a 501.3 % greater dry mass compared with the control group. Plant leaves under LED-A1 showed maximum efficiency of the light quantum yield of PSII, electron transfer rate, and the proportion of the open fraction of PSII centers, with values 113.70, 114.34, and 211.65 % higher than those of the control group, respectively, and showed the lowest rate constant of thermal energy dissipation of all groups. LED-B was beneficial to the plant height and stems diameter of the pepper plants more than LED-A. CONCLUSIONS: These results can serve as a guide for environment control and for realizing low energy consumption for products grown in a greenhouse in the winter in Southern China.

A new expanded mixed element method for convection-dominated Sobolev equation.

We propose and analyze a new expanded mixed element method, whose gradient belongs to the simple square integrable space instead of the classical H(div; Ω) space of Chen's expanded mixed element method. We study the new expanded mixed element method for convection-dominated Sobolev equation, prove the existence and uniqueness for finite element solution, and introduce a new expanded mixed projection. We derive the optimal a priori error estimates in L (2)-norm for the scalar unknown u and a priori error estimates in (L (2))(2)-norm for its gradient λ and its flux σ . Moreover, we obtain the optimal a priori error estimates in H (1)-norm for the scalar unknown u. Finally, we obtained some numerical results to illustrate efficiency of the new method.

A new mixed element method for a class of time-fractional partial differential equations.

A kind of new mixed element method for time-fractional partial differential equations is studied. The Caputo-fractional derivative of time direction is approximated by two-step difference method and the spatial direction is discretized by a new mixed element method, whose gradient belongs to the simple (L (2)(Ω)(2)) space replacing the complex H(div; Ω) space. Some a priori error estimates in L (2)-norm for the scalar unknown u and in (L (2))(2)-norm for its gradient σ. Moreover, we also discuss a priori error estimates in H (1)-norm for the scalar unknown u.

Polymerase chain reaction-free, sample-to-answer bacterial detection in 30 minutes with integrated cell lysis.

An important goal for improved diagnosis and management of infectious disease is the development of rapid and accurate technologies for the decentralized detection of bacterial pathogens. Most current clinical methods that identify bacterial strains require time-consuming culture of the sample or procedures involving the polymerase chain reaction. Neither of these approaches has enabled testing at the point-of-need because of the requirement for skilled technicians and laboratory facilities. Here, we demonstrate the performance of an effective, integrated platform for the rapid detection of bacteria that combines a universal bacterial lysis approach and a sensitive nanostructured electrochemical biosensor. The lysis is rapid, is effective at releasing intercellular RNA from bacterial samples, and can be performed in a simple, cost-effective device integrated with an analysis chip. The platform was directly challenged with these unpurified lysates in buffer and urine. We successfully detected the presence of bacteria with high sensitivity and specificity and achieved a sample-to-answer turnaround time of 30 min. We have met the clinically relevant detection limit of 1 cfu/µL, indicating that uncultured samples can be analyzed. This advance will greatly reduce time to successful detection from days to minutes.

Hierarchical nanotextured microelectrodes overcome the molecular transport barrier to achieve rapid, direct bacterial detection.

Detection of biomolecules at low abundances is crucial to the rapid diagnosis of disease. Impressive sensitivities, typically measured with small model analytes, have been obtained with a variety of nano- and microscale sensors. A remaining challenge, however, is the rapid detection of large native biomolecules in real biological samples. Here we develop and investigate a sensor system that directly addresses the source of this challenge: the slow diffusion of large biomolecules traveling through solution to fixed sensors, and inefficient complexation of target molecules with immobilized probes. We engineer arrayed sensors on two distinct length scales: a ∼100 µm length scale commensurable with the distance bacterial mRNA can travel in the 30 min sample-to-answer duration urgently required in point-of-need diagnostic applications; and the nanometer length scale we prove necessary for efficient target capture. We challenge the specificity of our hierarchical nanotextured microsensors using crude bacterial lysates and document the first electronic chip to sense trace levels of bacteria in under 30 min.

Programming the detection limits of biosensors through controlled nanostructuring.

Advances in materials chemistry offer a range of nanostructured shapes and textures for building new biosensors. Previous reports have implied that controlling the properties of sensor substrates can improve detection sensitivities, but the evidence remains indirect. Here we show that by nanostructuring the sensing electrodes, it is possible to create nucleic acid sensors that have a broad range of sensitivities and that are capable of rapid analysis. Only highly branched electrodes with fine structuring attained attomolar sensitivity. Nucleic acid probes immobilized on finely nanostructured electrodes appear more accessible and therefore complex more rapidly with target molecules in solution. By forming arrays of microelectrodes with different degrees of nanostructuring, we expanded the dynamic range of a sensor system from two to six orders of magnitude. The demonstration of an intimate link between nanoscale sensor structure and biodetection sensitivity will aid the development of high performance diagnostic tools for biology and medicine.

Direct profiling of cancer biomarkers in tumor tissue using a multiplexed nanostructured microelectrode integrated circuit.

The analysis of panels of nucleic acid biomarkers offers valuable diagnostic and prognostic information for cancer management. A cost-effective, highly sensitive electronic chip would offer an ideal platform for clinical biomarker readout and would have maximal utility if it was (i) multiplexed, enabling on-chip assays of multiple biomarkers, and (ii) able to perform direct (PCR-free) readout of disease-related genes. Here we report a chip onto which we integrate novel nanostructured microelectrodes and with which we directly detect cancer biomarkers in heterogeneous biological samples-both cell extracts and tumor tissues. Coarse photolithographic microfabrication defines a multiplexed sensing array; bottom-up fabrication of nanostructured microelectrodes then provides sensing elements. We analyzed a panel of mRNA samples for prostate cancer related gene fusions using the chip. We accurately identified gene fusions that correlate with aggressive prostate cancer and distinguished these from fusions associated with slower-progressing forms of the disease. The multiplexed nanostructured microelectrode integrated circuit reported herein provides direct, amplification-free, sample-to-answer in under 1 h using the 10 ng of mRNA readily available in biopsy samples.

Direct electrocatalytic mRNA detection using PNA-nanowire sensors.

We report an electrochemical nucleic acids sensing system that exhibits high sensitivity and specificity when challenged with heterogeneous samples of RNA. The platform directly detects specific RNA sequences in cellular and clinical samples without any sample labeling or PCR amplification. The sensor features an electrode platform consisting of three-dimensional gold nanowires, and DNA or RNA hybridization is detected using an electrocatalytic reporter system. In this study, probes made of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) are used to detect a newly identified cancer biomarkera gene fusion recently associated with prostate cancer. The system is able to detect the fusion sequence with 100 fM sensitivity, and retains high sensitivity even in the presence of a large excess of non-complementary sequences. Moreover, the sensor is able to detect the fusion sequence in as little as 10 ng of mRNA isolated from cell lines or 100 ng total RNA from patient tissue samples. The PNA-nanowire nucleic acids sensor described is one of the first electrochemical sensors to directly detect specific mRNAs in unamplified patient samples.

Comparison of the quality of aqueous dispersions of single wall carbon nanotubes using surfactants and biomolecules.

The use of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in current and future applications depends on the ability to process SWCNTs in a solvent to yield high-quality dispersions characterized by individual SWCNTs and possessing a minimum of SWCNT bundles. Many approaches for the dispersion of SWCNTs have been reported. However, there is no general assessment which compares the relative quality and dispersion efficiency of the respective methods. Herein we report a quantitative comparison of the relative ability of "wrapping polymers" including oligonucleotides, peptides, lignin, chitosan, and cellulose and surfactants such as cholates, ionic liquids, and organosulfates to disperse SWCNTs in water. Optical absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy provide quantitative characterization (amount of SWCNTs that can be suspended by a given surfactant and its ability to debundle SWCNTs) of these suspensions. Sodium deoxy cholate (SDOCO), oligonucleotides (GT)(15), (GT)(10), (AC)(15), (AC)(10), C(10-30), and carboxymethylcellulose (CBMC-250K) exhibited the highest quality suspensions of the various systems studied in this work. The information presented here provides a good framework for further study of SWCNT purification and applications.

[Neo-adjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery in treatment of advanced esophageal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of neo-adjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery in treatment of advanced esophageal carcinoma. METHODS: Forty-two consecutive patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy concurrently. The chemotherapy consisted of intravenous infusion of vinorelbine (25 mg/m(2) per day) on days 1, 8, 22, and 29 or 5-fluorouracil (2.4 g/m(2)) on days 1 - 3 and days 22 - 24, and cisplatin (75 mg/m(2)) on days 1 and 22. Radiotherapy was delivered 5 days a week for 4 weeks with the total dose of 40 Gy divided into a daily fraction of 2.0 Gy. After the completion of chemoradiotherapy, clinical restaging was performed. Esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy were performed 4 - 6 weeks after the chemoradiotherapy. RESULTS: Forty-one of the 42 patients finished the preoperative chemoradiotherapy. The clinical response rate of chemoradiotherapy was 83.3%. Forty cases received esophagectomy, with a radical operation rate of 97.5% and a pathological complete response rate of 23.8%. The overall 1, 3, and 5-year survival rates were 66.9%, 54.5%, and 44.9% respectively with a median survival time of 43.4 months. The 1, 3, and 5-year disease-free survival rates were 61.1%, 48.7%, and 39.5% respectively with a median disease-free survival time of 32.7 months. The toxic responses of the chemoradiotherapy, such as myelotoxicity, pulmonary toxicity, and esophagitis were at grade 1 or 2. No death occurred during chemoradiotherapy. The incidence rates of postoperative pulmonary infection and severe arrhythmia were 22.5% and 20.0% respectively. The postoperative mortality rate was 5.0%. CONCLUSION: The neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery achieves a high clinical response rate and pathologic complete tumor regression rate, significantly downstages the esophageal cancer, and improves the survival. Although the toxicity of chemoradiotherapy is mild, the side-effects cannot be ignored still.